Chicken marinade for Barbecue

A wonderful Barbecue experience this weekend gave me a very good energy to come back and compose a new entry here. Barbecuing with family and friends was an awesome experience. The day complimented very well with the session by presenting us the perfect weather to be cooking outdoors.
Everyone likes chicken, it’s pretty easy to prepare on the grill if you've got an easy-to-make marinade too. The best way to add flavor to your chicken is by mixing up a quick marinade and letting the chicken bathe in all the fabulous flavors.  I was searching for a good marinade and the options are endless. Finally from some of the  interesting recipes  I created my version of marinade  and I am so happy with the result thought of sharing it here.

Sharing my version of the marinade and the tips that I learned from this wonderful experience.

Ingredients 

1 kg of chicken parts (legs, thighs, wings, breasts),  I used thighs with skin-on

Soya sauce- ¼  cup

Lemon juice – ½ cup

Chilli paste- 1 tbsp

Paparika – 1 tbspn 

Turmeric -2 tsp

Crushed black pepper- 1 tbsp

5-6 large cloves of garlic, smashed

I used  this marinade for dark meat, preferably thighs, advantages of using thighs is that they take up the marinade better and don’t get dried out on the grill. Even if you do not plan on eating the chicken skin, it's best to barbecue it with it on. The skin will protect the chicken pieces from drying out.

When cooking skinless chicken always make sure you put something on the chicken to keep it from drying out. This can be a thin coat of cooking oil

Directions

Prepare marinade:
 In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients and marinate the chicken overnight When you are marinating chicken, cut small slits crosswise down the chicken which helps the marinade to penetrate. I think it also gives a finished look to the cooked chicken, especially with a dark-colored marinade.

Grill the chicken:
  Remove chicken from marinade, Place chicken on grill.  Here a charcoal grill is being used. You’ll notice as you cook that some areas on your grill brown the food faster than others. You have to move the chicken around and turn it until the pieces are cooked evenly. This is a pretty focused process, so stay in front of the grill brushing, turning, and moving the pieces all over to get them equally cooked.
chicken needs to cook until it's completely cooked, but cooking too long will make it dry and tough. The outside of the chicken should be well-browned on both sides.
Cooking time will depend on the chicken, how hot the grill is, the thickness of the chicken and even weather conditions if you're cooking outside.

Go, get your grill on!!!  Enjoy!  

Rava Laddu

Rava Laddu or Suji ka Laddu is a sweet Indian dessert made using semolina.  Simple and easy to make.  Cook in low flame with a little patience to get the perfect laddu. you can adjust the sugar according to your taste buds. This is my sister's recipe, i made this for the first time and it came out really good and tasted so delicious also.

Ingredients

Rava / Semolina-1 cup
Sugar- ¾ cup
Ghee - 2 tbsp .
Grated coconut- 1/2 cup
Cashews, raisins 
Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
Warm Milk- ¼ cup

Method

Heat little ghee in a  pan, reduce the flame and roast the cashew nuts and raisins
Add grated coconut and fry them along with the dry fruits for 2 mins.
Add rava (semolina) to the above mixture and stir continuously for 10 min, or till the rava releases a nice aroma
Add sugar and cardamom powder and mix well.
Add milk and switch off the flame.  mix the milk by stirring continuously.
Gather some mixture and form to a laddu shape. When gathering the balls, try to press the balls as tight as you can, so that they don't fall apart later. Let them cool down before serving.

Fish Masala

Fish Masala, a very simple and tasty dish,  packed with many flavours. This  fish masala recipe uses only basic ingredients.  and is a perfect with any meaty fish, the best is king fish. Here I have used Indian Halibut / Ayiram palli. it makes a finger-licking combo with rice, dosa or rotis.

Ingredients

Fish- 600 gms (cleaned and cut into medium pieces) 
Turmeric Powder - ½  tsp
Red Chili Powder -1 tsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Onions – 2(chopped) 
Green Chilies - 3-4(halved lengthwise)
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Tomato -1(chopped) 
Garam Masala Powder -1 tspn
Coriander Powder -1 tsp
Oil 
Coriander Leaves  
Salt to taste 

Method

Marinate the cleaned fish pieces with turmeric powder, red chili powder , lemon juice and a pinch of salt. keep aside for one hour.
Heat oil in a pan over medium flame, add onions and fry till golden brown.
Add green chilies and ginger-garlic paste to the onions. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add tomato pieces and saute till the oil starts appearing
Add garam masala, coriander powder, salt and a cup of water.
Add marinated fish pieces and cook till fish is done. cook in low flame for about 8–10 minutes or until the fish pieces are covered in the gravy.
Put off the flame. Garnish the dish with coriander leaves.

Parippuvada (Lentil Fritters)

Parippuvada is a favorite tea time snack in Kerala. Nothing tastes better than a hot cup of tea and paripuvada especially on a rainy day . The combination makes you nostalgic and homesick.  out of words to explain that feeling.  

Paripuvada is crisp on the outside and soft inside. I love the smell you get when you fry these ,. Easy to make…  and this is how my mother makes it… 

Ingredients

Chana dal (kadala parippu) –  1 ½  cups
Onion – 1 big, finely chopped
Green chilli – 2-3, finely chopped
Ginger – 1 ½  tsp, finely chopped
Curry leaves – 3-4 stems, finely chopped
Kayam (asafetida) – ⅛ tsp
Salt
Oil

Method

Soak Dal for 2-3 hours.
Drain well and coarsely grind it without adding water
Add the chopped onions, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, asafetida and salt to the dal, and combine it gently with hand.
Make small small balls, wet your hands and flatten each ball within your palms.
Heat oil in a deep pan.  When the oil is hot enough add the flattened balls.
Fry the vadas on low-medium heat, till it becomes crispy and brown.
Drain it on tissue paper, and serve with Hot tea.

Mathi Peera Pattichathu (Fish in Grated Coconut)

Mathi or sardine is a very special fish for us keralities..  and mathi peera pattichathu is lot more special for me for many reasons. :)  this is the one of my master piece. Simple and tasty dish for the ones who likes fish. This is a very healthy and easy recipe. There is no oil in this recipe.

Dedicating this recipe to an ardent fan of my 'pattichathu'. This is for you Anichetta ( Kochus)  and we miss you…

 

Ingredients

Sardines(Mathi) - 600gm
Kudampuli –  3 – 4 nos or as reqd
Small onions(shallots) – 6 nos
Ginger – small piece
Garlic pods – 4 nos
Green chillies -3 nos
Turmeric powder – ½   tea spoon
Red chillipowder- 1 tea spoon
Curry leaves – Plenty
Grated coconut – 1 cup
Salt 

Method

Wash kudampuli properly and soak it in a little water for sometime.
Crush (pound) the onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies.
In a clay pot or pan, mix the above crushed mixture, coconut, turmeric powder, chilli powder, curry leaves and salt with your hands. Add kudampuli , add 1 cup water (or  water enough to cook the fish). Add the fish.  Close the lid and bring to boil,when it starts boiling reduce the heat. Remove the cover and cook till the water has dried up. Serve with rice.

Butter Chicken

Butter chicken, the common dish to order in an Indian restaurant. The word ‘butter‘ in the name might be misleading, I believe it stands for the creamy texture of the dish than the  fact that its loaded with butter. The recipe here did not use much butter and trust me, you’ll not miss it… 

Usually the chicken is grilled in tandoor or fried then mixing it with the rich creamy curry.  For a change instead of grilling or frying I cooked it directly with the curry and it taste equally good.  What you miss here is the Smokey flavor, For those who needs that smokey flavor,when the butter chicken is cooked Place hot charcoal in an aluminum foil floating above the curry and cover the dish, remove the cover just before serving. Discard the foil and charcoal and serve. The curry will be infused with a smokey flavor!, This tip I got from a friend. :)

Ingredients

700gm chicken (you can use bone or boneless pieces, skin should be removed)

Juice of 1 lime

Red chilli powder-1 tea spoon

4 cloves

1 tea spoon peppercorns

Cinnamon- small stick

Almonds- 8-10

Cardamom- 3 pods

Fresh yoghurt – 1 cup

Vegetable oil

Onions- 3

Garlic- 1 inch piece

Ginger- 3-4 cloves

Coriander powder- 2 tea spoon

Cumin powder-1 tea spoon

Turmeric powder- ¼ tea spoon

Tomato- 1 (ground into a smooth paste in a food processor)

Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)- 1 table spoon

Butter- 1 table spoon

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

Mix the chicken with lime juice, chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt, cover and keep for 20 min.
Dry roast the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cardamom and almonds, grind into a coarse powder.
Mix yogurt, the spices powder, turmeric,  cumin and coriander powder and add the mixture to the chicken and keep it marinated for 30-45 min.
Heat oil in a big sauce pan; add 2 onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies and sauté on low/medium heat until it releases a nice aroma, remove from fire, allow to cool , add 1 ½ cups of water and make a paste of the mixture.
Heat oil in a pan, add one chopped onion, and sauté on medium heat until it turns golden brown, add tomato paste, kasthuri methi and add the chicken mix, sauté for a while. Add the onion paste and bring to boil , cover the pan and Cook till the chicken is tender and the gravy is reduced to half its original volume. Melt the butter and then pour it over the chicken. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Plum Cake

Christmas can never be completed without plum cakes. I love plum cakes and used to wait for the Christmas season for the cakes, This Christmas season I got very tasty cake from my friend, took the recipe from her and this is my first attempt with plum cake… and the result was good.

My husband and kids are not plum cake lovers, that’s the main reason for not trying this before.  But I’ve some good friends who loves plum cakes the way I do, got certified that my attempt was a success… :)

So here I’m sharing the recipe…

This recipe doesn't need you to soak the dry fruits in advance and it's alcohol-free so you can make it instantly just before you need it. 

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups dry fruits.

2 cups powdered white sugar

2 cups vegetable oil

5 eggs
1 clove + 1 cardamom pod + small piece of cinnamon + a pinch nutmeg (ground together to powder)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

First preparatory step is to caramelize sugar.
In a pan on medium heat, melt 1/2 cup sugar slowly turn into a dark brown goop. Keep stirring and let it turn a deep dark brown colour. Don't let it burn. Turn off heat and add about 1/4 cup water. The sugar will harden. Turn the heat back on and slowly heat the mixture to get a dissolved caramelized sugar.  Let this cool and set aside. 
Take the dry fruits and add 2-3 table spoons of flour to coat it. This is to avoid sinking to the bottom of the batter while baking. Set aside. 
Beat the egg whites in  a bowl until they turns fluffy and a soft peaks form.
Mix the baking powder, flour and spices until well combined. Sift 2-3 times.
Beat together the oil and sugar in a bowl until they turns creamy, add one egg yolk at a time and blend well. Add the vanilla extract and beat well, gradually add the flour little by little and blend well. Add the caramelized sugar and blend, finally add the dry fruit mixture to the mixing bowl and gently mix it.
Fold gently the egg whites to the cake batter.
Preheat oven to 350F / 180C
Pour this cake batter to the greased baking pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.

Vegetable Biriyani

A very Happy new year to all…

Something was keeping me away from my blog, you can put all the blame on the busy schedule… but reality is I was feeling too lazy to post . I’ve some in my drafts, but .. not complete.

Most of my newyear wishes includes wishes for my blog also. Wishing to see more on the blog this year…  that is something really nice and I am extremely happy to hear that… so this year I’ll try my best to  be more active on the blog. :) I don’t want to categorize this as my new-year resolution, coz my resolutions don’t last more than a month.  And I stop making resolutions long back… :) Thank you all my supporters for the encouragement.

Recently my kids complimented my vegetable biriyani.  So thought of sharing that as my first post this year…. Like my previous post, this is also not the typical biriyani… this is my version. Trying out some recipe here and there and then settling on my version of mix and match.

Ingredients

Rice- 2 cups

Garlic- 10 cloves

Ginger – 1 big sq piece

Green chillie -3

Onion-3 

Ghee- ¼ cup

Beans -10 nos

Carrot-3

Cauliflower

2 cloves

1 inch stick of cinnamon

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 whole cardamoms

Mace spice

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

½ cup freshly chopped mint leaves

1 cup coriander leaves

Salt to taste

Method

Cook the rice with 3 cups of water. The water added is less than is required, we don't want the rice to get fully cooked, as it will get cooked again.
Heat oil in a big sauce pan; add onions, ginger, garlic and green chillies and sauté on low/medium heat until it releases a nice aroma. Ground the mixture and keep the paste aside.
Dry roast  cloves, cardamom, fennel seeds, cumin seeds. grind all the roasted spices and keep aside.
Heat 3 table spoon of ghee in a pot, add the vegetable and sauté it for a while. Add the onion paste  salt to taste and slim the flame. Add a portion of the mint leaves ,coriander leaves, and the grounded masala.  With this masala being at the bottom of the pan , add half portion of  cooked rice add the remaining masala powder on top of the rice, add the remaining coriander and mint leaves, don't mix it as yet. Pour 1 table spoon of ghee on top. Now cover the pan with a lid and let it sit for 15 more minutes on low heat. Turn off heat and let the biriyani sit for another 15-20 minutes, covered.
 Heat the ghee or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the raisins and cashews and cook, stirring, until the raisins are plump and the cashews are toasted. garnish your biriyani and serve hot.

Garlic Chicken

After a really long break, back in the blog.. It’s the vacation time and we been to kerala for a short 3 weeks trip. Trip was Short and sweet. I really had a good time enjoying the spl food from my mothers. Both my mother and Mother in law are wonderful cooks, I wanted to take some pictures of their dishes and share their recipes on my blog… But… enjoying them was the only priority and I forget about the rest…. Next time for sure… :)
Now back in my kitchen… with my routine cooking, and it’s time for another chicken dish… it’s the garlic chicken this time. This is different recipe of garlic chicken, receipe was posted in a Facebook group by one of our friend. Posted long back, This is an adaptation of the same recipe with some alterations from my side.

Ingredients:-
Chicken- 500g
Onion finely chopped-1 cup
Tomato -2 
Garlic- 20 cloves
Ginger paste - 1 table spn
Lemon juice – 2 table spn
Yoghurt- 2 table spn
Salt
Green chilli -4
Coriander leaves – ½ cup
cloves- 3
cardamom - small piece

Method

Marinate the chicken with yoghurt, lemon juice and a paste of ginger, chilli and 9-10 garlic cloves. add salt. Marinate it for  1 hr.
After the chicken is marinated use a thick bottom skillet or pan for cooking.
Pour oil in the pan , add cardamom and cloves along with crushed garlic. Turn the heat to medium, When the oil is hot enough, add onion. Let it saute until golden. add the tomatoes and stir fry for a while.
Now add the marinated chicken. Add salt .Let it cook on medium low heat stirring occasionally. It should be done in 20-30 minutes.
garnish with coriander leaves and Serve with rice or your choice of bread or naan.

Papaya Thoran (Stir fried Papaya with Coconut)

Pappaya is a very common fruit something you can find in the yard of almost every house in Kerala. But when you are away from home… you miss all these garden fresh items.
Papaya has many nutritional values. Very tasty as a fruit as such.. but  things are different here at home, I donno why my kids don’t like the taste of ripe papaya, same with my husband also.. they don’t enjoy it the way I enjoy the fruit. So instead of waiting for the papaya to go ripe, I usually cook the green papaya. You can make a variety of dishes- curries, salads and so on..  and the easiest one is Thoran.
Thoran is a dry dish traditionally made of a finely chopped vegetables  and fresh coconut and spices, tempered with that touch of coconut oil. This popular and common dish is usually prepared to be eaten along with rice. You can make thoran out of any vegetable.
The interesting fact is unlike the fruit, papaya thoran is very much in demand here.  They love this , especially my boys… both father and son enjoys this thoran.
There’s nothing much to write about the recipe, its that simple, easy. tasty and healthy. :) … sharing my version of Papaya Thoran

Ingredients:-

Green papaya -  1 ½ cups , (Grated or finely chopped )
Coconut - 1/4 cup , grated
Green Chili - 2
small Onion –  4-5 , chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method

Peal the skin and grate the papaya.
Crush  the coconut , green chilies , turmeric  and cumin seeds.
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds allow it to pop Add small onions and cook till translucent.
Add curry leaves. Add the crushed coconut mixture. Mix well and stir fry for sometime.
Add the grated papaya and mix well and cook it covered in low flame for 4-5 min. add salt and mix well. Open the lid and stir cook it for another few minutes. Remove from the stove. Papaya thoran is ready to be served.